“Bye, bye Honda!” Marc Marquez put on the spot by Francesco Bagnaia teasing

After the Japanese MotoGP, Marquez was fielding questions from journalists about whether he will quit or stay at Honda in 2024.

But Francesco Bagnaia, sat next to him in the same press conference, chimed in.

He joked: “Bye, bye Honda!”

Marquez awkwardly smiled back: “No, why?”

Marquez laughed out loud in response to Bagnaia’s comment.

“The kiss of Valentino,” Bagnaia smiled in reference to a famous moment from MotoGP history.

Valentino Rossi wore a t-shirt saying “bye, bye baby” at the season-ending grand prix before quitting Yamaha to join Ducati, and was kissed on his helmet.

Bagnaia was cheekily inferring that Marquez will make a similarly high-profile decision to leave Honda and link up with Gresini Ducati, as expected.

“It was a very romantic podium,” Marquez earlier smiled about his third-placed finish in Japan.

Words that could clearly be understood as a hint that he won’t represent Honda at their home race ever again.

Marquez has been coy about his future but Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna dropped the biggest hint yet, after the Japanese MotoGP, that the star rider is coming to Gresini.

Bagnaia, who will be his stablemate next season, is clearly enjoying the saga too.

But will Marquez have better luck at Ducati than his old enemy Rossi did, when he made his own ill-fated move?